📣 Kelly McLean lost 110 pounds with gastric sleeve surgery, then slowly gained 50 back. The surgery had shrunk her stomach, but it never touched her sugar addiction.

📋 Kelly McLean had her gastric sleeve surgery in 2014 and lost 110 pounds in the first year. But her post-surgery diet still included grains and chemical sweeteners, and without addressing her underlying food addiction, the weight crept back. In 2023, after hearing Vinnie Tortorich's NSNG (No Sugar, No Grains) approach for the second time, something finally clicked. Kelly has since lost over 60 pounds, come off blood pressure medication, and evolved her eating from strict NSNG toward a mostly carnivore lifestyle. She also shares how eating this way helped her recover from a hip replacement and a knee replacement, and the slow, ongoing work of encouraging her husband and son toward the same changes.

🔑 What You'll Learn in This Episode

• Why her bariatric "proper eating" diet, still full of grains and sweeteners, never broke her sugar addiction
• The difference between gastric sleeve and gastric bypass surgery, and why she chose the sleeve
• How discovering NSNG in 2023 helped her lose over 60 pounds and come off blood pressure medication for good
• Why she evolved from strict NSNG toward a mostly carnivore way of eating, and how that simplified her cooking
• How eating nutrient-dense, low-inflammation meals helped her recover faster from hip and knee replacement surgeries

💡 Key Insight

"You have to find your why. Until you do it for yourself, lasting change won't come." — Kelly McLean

🌐 Connect with Kelly McLean

Facebook: https://facebook.com/KellyRainesMcLean

Community Page: KM Nutrition and Wellness (Facebook)

⚕️ This podcast is for informational and educational purposes only and is not medical advice; always consult a qualified healthcare professional about your own health decisions.

⏳ Chapters

0:47 Welcome to Keto Biography

1:57 Meet Kelly McLean: A Journey of Second Chances

4:52 Gastric Sleeve Surgery: Why She Chose It Over Bypass

8:32 The Return of Weight Gain and Food Addiction

12:07 Discovering NSNG: No Sugar, No Grains

16:17 60 Pounds Down and Off Medication

19:47 What Kelly Eats Now and How It Supports Healing

24:02 Preparing for Surgery Recovery with Real Food

27:47 Supporting Family Health and Breaking Cycles

31:27 Kelly's Message for Anyone Struggling

🎧 New episodes drop every Thursday on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and all major platforms.

🌱 Know someone with a keto success story? Nominate them to be featured: [email protected]

🔗 Subscribe, follow, and leave a review — it helps more people find the show.

👥 Connect with Robyn:

 https://www.robyndobbins.com 

https://linktr.ee/robyn.r.dobbins

🎬 Robyn is featured in The Cholesterol Code – Watch it on Amazon.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

📣 Emily Penton was a licensed therapist when she was diagnosed with bipolar disorder. Three weeks into an all-meat diet, she was hospitalized again, this time with multiple sclerosis. She hasn't had a symptom of either since 2019.

📋 Emily Penton was in graduate school for clinical counseling when she was diagnosed with bipolar disorder. At her worst, she was on 900mg of lithium, 80mg of Prozac, and 80mg of Adderall daily just to function, and her illness eventually progressed into rapid cycling that made it impossible to keep working. In February 2019, she started an all-meat, no-plant way of eating, and had her last bipolar episode two months later. Three weeks into the diet, she was hospitalized for a different reason: her throat had stopped swallowing, and doctors discovered lesions on her brain from multiple sclerosis. She kept eating the same way. Her last MS symptom was in May 2019, and follow-up scans have shown her lesions shrinking rather than progressing. Now a coach rather than a licensed therapist, Emily walks clients through a 45-day food experiment using a simple green-yellow-red system, and shares why treating mental illness as a "superpower" rather than a life sentence has changed how she works with people at their lowest points.

🔑 What You'll Learn in This Episode

• How Emily's bipolar disorder progressed to rapid cycling and made it impossible to keep working as a therapist
• Why she started an all-meat diet in 2019, and how her last bipolar episode came two months later
• How a multiple sclerosis diagnosis, discovered three weeks into the diet, resolved without medication by May 2019
• How her simple green-yellow-red food system works, and why she lets clients build their own food list instead of prescribing one
• Why reintroducing a single food, like honey or a sweet potato, can bring psychiatric symptoms back even years into recovery

💡 Key Insight

"You're not broken. You're brilliant." — Emily Penton

🌐 Connect with Emily Penton

Website: https://emilypenton.com

Instagram: https://instagram.com/emilypenton

YouTube: Emily Penton

⚕️ This podcast is for informational and educational purposes only and is not medical advice; always consult a qualified healthcare professional about your own health decisions.

⏳ Chapters

0:47 Welcome to Keto Biography

1:47 Meet Emily Penton: Therapist Turned Carnivore Coach

4:37 A Descent into Psychosis and Medication Overload

8:07 Diagnosed with MS: The Breaking Point

11:32 Discovering Carnivore and Starting Gut Healing

15:17 Ending Psychiatric and MS Symptoms with Food

19:02 Leaving Therapy to Help Others as a Coach

23:27 The Green-Yellow-Red Food System Explained

26:47 Radical Ownership and Building Community

31:07 Emily's Advice for Mental and Physical Healing

34:57 Final Reflections: You're Not Broken, You're Brilliant

🎧 New episodes drop every Thursday on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and all major platforms.

🌱 Know someone with a keto success story? Nominate them to be featured: [email protected]

🔗 Subscribe, follow, and leave a review — it helps more people find the show.

👥 Connect with Robyn:

 https://www.robyndobbins.com 

https://linktr.ee/robyn.r.dobbins

🎬 Robyn is featured in The Cholesterol Code – Watch it on Amazon.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

📣 Christine Trimpe made it half a mile up a hiking trail before her body said no. Sitting on a stump while her husband kept walking, she prayed one simple line: "God, I just want to feel better." Ten years later, she's lost over 100 pounds and hasn't looked back.

📋 Christine Trimpe spent 30 years yo-yo dieting while working as a corporate accountant, carrying 100 pounds of excess weight along with chronic fatigue, migraines, cystic acne, and a painful ovarian cyst that led to a fatty liver disease diagnosis. A failed hike at Rocky Mountain National Park in 2015 became her breaking point. She started with a sleep study, then quit sugar, then discovered Dr. Jason Fung's work on fasting and insulin, which led her to a ketogenic, low-carb way of eating. She's kept the weight off for a decade, now works as a licensed sugar addiction practitioner, and coaches women through the same method she used to reclaim her health, detailed in her book Sugar Freed.

🔑 What You'll Learn in This Episode

• How a failed half-mile hike at Rocky Mountain National Park became the turning point in Christine's health journey
• Why quitting sugar alone only got her 18 pounds down in 10 months, and what changed after she cut bread, pasta, and potatoes
• How fatty liver disease, migraines, and cystic acne all resolved once she addressed her sugar addiction
• Why she trained as a licensed sugar addiction practitioner, and what she's learned about why 97% of her coaching clients have some level of sugar addiction
• How her book Sugar Freed and her HEART framework (Handle emotions, Examine thoughts, Ask for motivation, Run with courage, Take action) help women build lasting change

💡 Key Insight

"Hope for freedom, because I was hopeless for those 30 years." — Christine Trimpe

🌐 Connect with Christine Trimpe

Website: https://christinetrimpe.com

Instagram: https://instagram.com/christinetrimpe

Facebook: Christine Trimpe

⚕️ This podcast is for informational and educational purposes only and is not medical advice; always consult a qualified healthcare professional about your own health decisions.

⏳ Chapters

0:47 Welcome to Ketobiography

1:52 Christine's Life Before Keto: Fatigue, Pain, and Inflammation

5:07 The Mountain Moment: A Simple Prayer That Changed Everything

8:22 How the Ketogenic Diet Changed Her Health Markers

11:57 Breaking Free from Sugar Addiction

16:32 Navigating the Emotional & Spiritual Side of Weight Loss

21:17 Coaching Women Through the Sugar Freed Method

25:57 From Accountant to Author: Following the Calling

29:47 Final Reflections and Message of Hope

🎧 New episodes drop every Thursday on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and all major platforms.

🌱 Know someone with a keto success story? Nominate them to be featured: [email protected]

🔗 Subscribe, follow, and leave a review — it helps more people find the show.

👥 Connect with Robyn:

 https://www.robyndobbins.com 

https://linktr.ee/robyn.r.dobbins

🎬 Robyn is featured in The Cholesterol Code – Watch it on Amazon.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

📣 What if the key to better elder care was already on your plate? Former Air Force pilot Hal Cranmer is transforming assisted living in Arizona by replacing processed food with ketogenic nutrition — and the results are rewriting what aging can look like.

📋 In this first episode of Ketobiography, Robyn Dobbins and Natalie Shamp sit down with Hal Cranmer, founder of A Paradise for Parents, who left the skies for a higher mission. Hal shares how four residential assisted living facilities in Arizona became the proving ground for a radically different approach to elder care — one built on ketogenic nutrition, resistance training, brain stimulation, and genuine human connection. From reversing dementia scores to helping a wheelchair-bound resident stand for the first time in 45 years, Hal's story is equal parts practical and inspiring.

🔑 What You'll Learn

• Why Hal left the airline industry and how a chance encounter with functional medicine changed his approach to food and health
• How ketogenic nutrition is helping residents reduce medications, regain mobility, and reverse early dementia markers
• What a full day looks like for residents in a keto-based assisted living environment, from meals to movement to brain games
• The real success stories behind A Paradise for Parents, including a resident who went from a dementia score of 15 to 26 in seven months
• Why the conventional elder care system resists nutritional intervention — and what families can do about it

💡 Key Insight

"Be a lifelong learner. Whatever you're interested in, research it with a passion — and don't think it's just classes. Every person I've ever met has been able to teach me something." — Hal Cranmer

🌐 Connect with Hal Cranmer

Website: https://aparadiseforparents.com 

X: https://x.com/HalCranmer 

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/assistedlivinghalcranmer 

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/A-Paradise-for-Parents-Assisted-Living

📣 Additional Resources Mentioned

Mark Sisson / Mark's Daily Apple: https://www.marksdailyapple.com 

Dr. John Jaquish / Jaquish Biomedical: https://jaquishbiomedical.com 

Book — Weightlifting Is a Waste of Time: https://www.amazon.com/dp/1544511655 

Dr. Dale Bredesen / Apollo Health: https://www.apollohealthco.com/dr-bredesen/ 

Dr. Shawn Baker: https://www.youtube.com/@ShawnBakerMD 

Maria Emmerich: http://mariamindbodyhealth.com

⚕️ This podcast is for informational and educational purposes only and is not medical advice; always consult a qualified healthcare professional about your own health decisions.

⏳ Chapters

00:47 Welcome to Ketobiography

01:57 Meet Hal Cranmer: From Air Force to Elder Care

05:32 Why Hal Left the Airline Industry

08:02 Starting A Paradise for Parents

10:47 Transforming Elder Care with Keto Nutrition

15:07 Keto's Impact on Dementia and Medication Use

18:52 Daily Life for Residents on a Keto Plan

23:17 Real Success Stories from Hal's Facilities

28:02 Resistance in the Traditional Elder Care System

33:27 Hal's Vision for the Future of Senior Living

37:37 Advice for Caregivers and Families

39:57 Hal's Final Thoughts: "Be a Lifelong Learner"

🎧 New episodes drop every Thursday on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and all major platforms.

🌱 Know someone with a keto success story? Nominate them to be featured: [email protected]

🔗 Subscribe, follow, and leave a review — it helps more people find the show.

👥 Connect with Robyn:

 https://www.robyndobbins.com 

https://linktr.ee/robyn.r.dobbins

🎬 Robyn is featured in The Cholesterol Code – Watch it on Amazon.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This episode was originally recorded on March 1, 2025

Intro:

(Robyn) Today's guest is a nutrition coach certified by the Society of Metabolic Health Practitioners (SMHP). As a person who lives with Type 1 Diabetes, she specializes in normalizing blood sugars for both type 1 and type 2 diabetics. She hosts her own podcast, Low Carb and Fasting, which I have had the pleasure of being on as a guest. She also manages private Facebook groups, creating a community for scientifically based, low carb, low insulin lifestyles. It's my pleasure to introduce Nayiri Mississian.

Find Nayiri:

 @LowCarbandFasting 

https://lowcarbandfasting.com

Find Robyn’s information here:

Harbinger of Health, LLC

LinkTree

Find Natalie’s information here:

LinkTree

Find Scott’s information here:

LinkTree

Additional Resources Mentioned:

Society of Metabolic Health Practitioners (SMHP)

Alliance to Protect Insulin Choice (APIC)

Video about the need for Levemir Insulin:

https://youtu.be/Dcyd5t5EzJg

Dr. Robert Cywes  @DrCywesCarbAddictionDoc 

Jan Ellison Baszucki

Metabolic Mind  @metabolicmind 

@lessofmestories YouTube, X, Instagram

🎧 New episodes drop every Thursday on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and all major platforms.

🌱 Know someone with a keto success story? Nominate them to be featured: [email protected]

🔗 Subscribe, follow, and leave a review — it helps more people find the show.

👥 Connect with Robyn:

 https://www.robyndobbins.com 

https://linktr.ee/robyn.r.dobbins

🎬 Robyn is featured in The Cholesterol Code – Watch it on Amazon.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This episode was recorded on April 13, 2023

Introduction:

(Robyn) We're going to have a slightly different episode today. If you haven't noticed, Scott hasn't been around for a while. He has an update for us, making him the first official return guest to our show. Scott was the very first guest on Less of Me Success Stories in December of 2023.

Because of this show's special nature, previous guests from LOMSS were invited to join the conversation. We will also hear from Episode 5 guest Tim Mallien, Episode 9 guest Matt Dobbins, and Kurt Lepird, a friend of the show.

We want to thank Scott for being the cofounder of our little podcast project. He is always welcome to be a part of the future of this show when time allows. We wish him luck as he moves forward with all of his new adventures.

Find Scott’s information here:

LinkTree

Find Robyn’s information here:

Harbinger of Health, LLC

LinkTree

Find Natalie’s information here:

LinkTree

Additional Resources Mentioned:

Tim Mallien

Matt Dobbins

Kurt Lepird

Anna Vocino

VinnieTortorich

@lessofmestories YouTube, X, Instagram

🎧 New episodes drop every Thursday on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and all major platforms.

🌱 Know someone with a keto success story? Nominate them to be featured: [email protected]

🔗 Subscribe, follow, and leave a review — it helps more people find the show.

👥 Connect with Robyn:

 https://www.robyndobbins.com 

https://linktr.ee/robyn.r.dobbins

🎬 Robyn is featured in The Cholesterol Code – Watch it on Amazon.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This episode was recorded March 1st, 2025

Intro:

(Robyn). Today's guest is a friend of mine who I've had the pleasure to meet at the Collaborative Science Conferences (CoSci). Our stories are very similar so it was only natural that we would gravitate toward each other. In fact, our stories are intertwined in the upcoming documentary, The Cholesterol Code. It's my pleasure to introduce Dr. Eric Rodgers.

Find Eric here:

X

THINK+SMART

Find Robyn’s information here:

Harbinger of Health

LinkTree

Find Natalie’s information here:

LinkTree

Find Scott’s information here:

LinkTree

Additional resources mentioned:

CoSci

The Cholesterol Code Documentary

Dr. Chris Palmer

Dr. Georgia Ede

Jan Ellison Baszuki

Metabolic Mind

Dr. Tro Kalayjian

Dave Feldman (LMHR)

Jen Isenhart (Fat Fiction)

Dr. Eric Westman

Amy Berger

Keto Brick

Siobhan Huggins

Amber O'Hearn

HLTH Code

Dr. Nick Norwitz  

Dr. Andrew Huberman

@lessofmestories X, YouTube & Instagram

🎧 New episodes drop every Thursday on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and all major platforms.

🌱 Know someone with a keto success story? Nominate them to be featured: [email protected]

🔗 Subscribe, follow, and leave a review — it helps more people find the show.

👥 Connect with Robyn:

 https://www.robyndobbins.com 

https://linktr.ee/robyn.r.dobbins

🎬 Robyn is featured in The Cholesterol Code – Watch it on Amazon.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The episode was recorded on March 21, 2025, and aired on YouTube on May 8, 2025

Intro:

(Natalie) On this episode, we’re joined by a guest who has been following a whole-food, low-carb way of eating for the better part of 15 years. He has overcome food addiction, and emotional eating all while he and his wife care for their 16-year-old daughter who is medically fragile. Despite his hectic life and lack of sleep, he finds passion in serving others and we are proud to call him a friend.

Find Josh here:

X

Facebook

IG

Additional Resources Mentioned:

Mark Sisson (Primal Blueprint)

Please make a donation to one or all of these great services:

Make A Wish Foundation

Charlie Foundation

Hunter’s Hope

Ronald McDonald House

Find Natalie’s information here:

LinkTree

Find Robyn’s information here:

Harbinger of Health, LLC

LinkTree

Find Scott’s information here:

LinkTree

@lessofmestories Facebook, Instagram, X & YouTube

🎧 New episodes drop every Thursday on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and all major platforms.

🌱 Know someone with a keto success story? Nominate them to be featured: [email protected]

🔗 Subscribe, follow, and leave a review — it helps more people find the show.

👥 Connect with Robyn:

 https://www.robyndobbins.com 

https://linktr.ee/robyn.r.dobbins

🎬 Robyn is featured in The Cholesterol Code – Watch it on Amazon.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This episode originally streamed live on YouTube on April 17, 2025 Less Of Me Success Stories

Intro (Robyn):

I met tonight’s guest two years ago at the Collaborative Science Conference in Las Vegas. Speaking of collaborative, our guest organized two well-attended dinners. If that wasn’t enough, he did it all again this year. I appreciate his work because the dinners were a great opportunity to meet people in the low-carb community. I don’t want to give too much of his story away, but I do want to say what I love about our guest. He is living proof that you are never too old or too broken to make the necessary changes to heal. He is on a mission to pay it forward and help others “Kick Ass” and make changes in Mind, Body and Spirit.

Please welcome Retired Lt Colonel Les Lyons.

Find Les here:

Kicking Ass After 70

YouTube

Facebook

Instagram

X

Additional Resources Mentioned:

Dr. Ken Berry

Dr. Sean O’Mara

Stephen R. Covey (books)

Dr. Annette Bosworth

Find Robyn’s information here:

Harbinger of Health, LLC

LinkTree

Find Natalie’s information here:

LinkTree

Find Scott’s information here:

LinkTree

@lessofmestories YouTube, X, Facebook, Instagram

🎧 New episodes drop every Thursday on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and all major platforms.

🌱 Know someone with a keto success story? Nominate them to be featured: [email protected]

🔗 Subscribe, follow, and leave a review — it helps more people find the show.

👥 Connect with Robyn:

 https://www.robyndobbins.com 

https://linktr.ee/robyn.r.dobbins

🎬 Robyn is featured in The Cholesterol Code – Watch it on Amazon.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Intro: (Natalie) Tonight, we’re excited to welcome an author and content creator with an incredible journey. 

At 16, he faced severe, undiagnosed symptoms that left him floor-bound for over a year, stumping doctors. Frustrated, he turned to self-education. His persistence revealed his condition: cranio-cervical instability (CCI). A skull-spine instability from weak ligaments or trauma that causes severe pain and neurological issues. 

Now, driven by moral duty, he cuts through modern health myths with a sharp, unapologetic style on YouTube, grabbing attention to empower his audience. He’s here to educate us on nutrition and urge people to take charge of their health, exposing the flaws in our medical system.

Please welcome Edward Goeke.

Find Eddie:

YouTube

Patreon

“Contraindicated" Book 

Find Natalie’s information here:

LinkTree

Find Robyn’s information here:

Harbinger of Health

LinkTree

Find Scott’s information here:

LinkTree

Additional Resources Mentioned:

Crossfit Impulse Article "Why Grains Are Killing You"

Whole 30

Dr. Gundry

Caring Medical Florida: YouTube ‪

Dave Aspry

Dr. Paul Salidno (Instagram)

Professor Bart Kay ‪

Paul Saladino and Thomas DeLauer WRONG on the interwebs

Eddie Goeke - Mini Me?

@lessofmestories YouTube, X, Instagram

🎧 New episodes drop every Thursday on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and all major platforms.

🌱 Know someone with a keto success story? Nominate them to be featured: [email protected]

🔗 Subscribe, follow, and leave a review — it helps more people find the show.

👥 Connect with Robyn:

 https://www.robyndobbins.com 

https://linktr.ee/robyn.r.dobbins

🎬 Robyn is featured in The Cholesterol Code – Watch it on Amazon.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.